Seven Weeks Time
by SONICPHENG
Summary: Keith shields Lance from a Druid, earning a hit directing to his head. When Keith's condition continues to decline from minor fevers to outbreaks of rage and suicide, he wakes up restrained to a chair in an empty room by that person he trusted. "He needs to be protected," they convince him. "I won't see you hurt again. Not by yourself-not by anyone." -Suicide, violence, very pain.


**00:00 - _SNARE_**

* * *

" _Keith_!"

Blue fingers wrapped around his skull, ignoring his groans and beginning to lift. Each strand of black hair felt as if it were on fire. Lance lay bleeding out on the ground, Keith's feet lifting into the air the only thing in his view.

"S...top…" The blue palladin reached with all of his strength.

Hasty footsteps echoed in the distance. Shiro sprinted at full speed.

"Let him go!" his hand powered up.

A smile formed behind that cloak. The Druid's hand began to glow.

" _NO-_!" Shiro reached—

Shocks of electricity in large visible amounts rippled around Keith's head. A blood curdling scream rose from his throat. His voice cut off, and so did the electric surge. Lance stared in horror, speechless.

The whites of Keith's eyes rolled into view, scarlet trickling from down his hair lines. Both blood and spit dripped out of his agape mouth.

He didn't appear to be breathing.

Lance stared pale-faced, barely able to move from the electric shocks sent directly into his nerves.

Purple bursts of energy started crackling around the Druid. It took a step back, Keith's body falling unceremoniously before Lance, who struggled. He fought to move at least an inch—any inch.

"K-eith…"

A tear drop ran down his nose, fingers twitching in the raven-haired's direction.

Then a wind wisped over Lance, Shiro's jumping shadow casting over him. Howling out, a powerful punch sliced through the air and into nothing, the druid teleporting away.

He appeared in that instance ten feet from the three.

"This is your lesson, paladins. Withdraw and surrender." The being vanished before another move could be made. The three were left there, silence permeating the cold air in that black cavern.

"Shi...ro."

Shiro turned to the sound of Lance's whimpering. He saw the blue paladin reaching with all of his might for Keith's body, unconscious and limp like a ragdoll.

"Shiro…" Lance coughed, tears swiftly rolling down his cheeks. "Sav...e him… save Keith…"

"Keith!" Shiro immediately dropped to their side, trying not to panic. He tapped his cheeks— "Keith, are you with me?— then lowered an ear to his mouth. Something grabbed hold of Shiro's chest.

No air was coming out.

"No. No no _no_."

" _Guys_!"

Shiro looked up in desperation. The others were making their way over at lightning speed. The voice which called must have been Pidge's, but he couldn't tell—it didn't matter.

"Princess! They need medical attention!" He practically cried out, holding Keith's head over his knee. Shiro himself felt he couldn't see properly. He felt he couldn't hear what was happening. He was unaware of how badly his body was shaking. Lance reached out enough to rest his fingers on Keith's arm. He coughed into the ground, groaning.

Pidge gasped at the sight. Hunk ran to Lance's side, rolling him over.

"Buddy! Lance? You okay?"

The blue paladin only kept repeating himself.

"Keith… help…"

Shiro met eyes with Allura, who was kneeling before Keith's body, gently grabbing hold of him.

"He's not breathing," Shiro said. "The Druid did something-electrocuted him directly to the head."

She took no time in peeling off Keith's armor and chucking it away. "Help me with this. We need to give him CPR immediately."

The two began fumbling to remove the piece covering his chest. Allura parted Keith's lips, "Lance? How are you feeling?" proceeding to blow air into them. Even now, she managed to keep calm and juggle both of their lives.

Lance stared blank at the roof of the cave, doing his best to talk. His muscles were either numb or burning all over his body, and it felt like being poked with heated needles each time he spoke.

"Keith… he… shielded…"

Pidge took her helmet off and knelt down beside Lance, running a hand through his hair. "Princess, he's starting to look pale!"

Hunk added in a panic, "And he's sweating a lot!"

 _GASP_!

All heads turned. Keith had taken a large breath of air. A sense of relief swept over Shiro. Never had such an excruciating sound made him feel hope. Keith was going to be okay.

He had to be.

Allura wiped Keith's blood from her mouth and stood. "Alright, we need to get them to the healing pods now. We can't waste any more time!"

"Keith…"

"He's going to be okay, bro. Let's get you out of here."

Lance winced as Hunk lifted him up. Shiro did the same with Keith, everyone running back as quickly as possible.

Keith gave a couple of conscious blinks, the world around him shaking and framed in black.

" _You're going to be okay… alright_?"

He heard Shiro's voice. Something was carrying him-or someone.

His head hurt so bad—too bad to think. What was happening? Where was he?

Only one thing registered.

" _You and Lance are okay. We've got you. You have to stay with me._ "

Something unnerving ticked in the back of his mind.

* * *

Keith drew a single breath and crashed into something firm. The sensation of warmth wrapped around his body, like arms, as he began coming to. Keith opened his eyes, the pod chamber coming into view even as dots swam in his vision.

"I got you, bud." Hands pat Keith's back. So they _were_ arms. "Can you walk?"

"How long have I been…?"

"Three days."

His memory was muddled. Keith slid fingers into his hair and tried his best to think. He and Lance faced off with the Druid. There was no way around it. Lance took a direct hit to his back, then dropped to the ground. The Druid went to attack again, so Keith got in the way… then...

 _Lance_.

He gripped the fabric of Shiro's shirt. "Where is Lance? Is he okay?"

"He's in the next pod over. Allura says he'll be out by dinner time."

Keith looked over, catching a glimpse of the sleeping blue paladin. He looked peaceful, a stress relieving contrast to the bloodied and paralyzed version Keith had witnessed prior to blacking out.

It occurred to him that Shiro hadn't let go all of this time. Keith looked up to see pain twisting in his eyes, lips glued together. They were trying to prevent any sign of weakness. In this case, quivering.

"Shiro, I don't know what happened, but I'm fine now."

Honest to the Fire Goddess, Keith had no recollection after the Druid grabbed him. The rest of those memories were hazy and just barely accessible. Whatever happened to make Shiro, one of the most collected members on the team this visibly shaken, must have been horrifying.

It made chills run up Keith's arms.

"Can you stand on your own?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, let's get you to your room."

His arms slipped away and Keith took a couple of baby steps, holding his head with a groan. Something felt… weird.

Something he couldn't put his finger on.

Twisting sensations struck for one tick at a time inside somewhere. Was he hungry? When wasn't he hungry? No, the feeling also extended to his mind. Swirling—swirling a lot more than before.

 _I'm probably just tired_.

"You coming?"

He hadn't even noticed he stopped. "Yeah, sorry." He turned to Lance's pod one more time. Keith gave the side a couple of good knocks. "Rest well, buddy."

He started catching up, brows furrowed.

 _I need a nap_.

 _That's it_.

* * *

It wasn't long before the awaited dinner came and all members of the team were at the table, though one in particular was being looked at in disgust. Lance slurped, chewed and chowed down everything placed in front of him like a vacuum. Coran's hands were busy as switching out the boy's plates was an intense need.

"Hunk, I think Lance is actually enjoying food more than you do." Pidge commented, losing her appetite a bit just watching him.

"Yeah. I've never seen him _eat_ like—" Hunk stopped, looking over at the science buff, "wait, what?"

"It's a good sign. After what happened, I'd be more concerned if he _wasn't_ eating so much." Allura took that as a cue to glance over at Keith, shifting from a smile to worry.

A full course meal rested in front of him left totally untouched. He stared with blank eyes, like the bowl of green goo was a void of nothingness. He had napped, sure. But this sensation had transformed into something more than just twisting. It was hard to tell, but Keith thought it could actually be getting _worse_.

His mind was cluttered with strings of thoughts. _What is happening to me_? _I can't put my finger on it… But it's right there._

No.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Keith," Shiro touched his shoulder, pulling him out of the black hole of thoughts, "what's wrong? Do you feel sick—"

"Don't touch me."

Shiro's eyes widened when his hand was smacked away. It wasn't hard, but neither were Keith's words. They were sharp and unexpected. Keith himself was even taken aback by what he just said. The boy stared down at his hand.

 _Why did I just_...

The feeling grew strong, into something more well-known.

 _I know what this is_.

"Keith…?"

At this point, everyone was staring at him. Lance actually ripped his eyes away from his food and dropped the spoon, leaning over to see Keith's face. "Keith, you okay, pal?"

 _Oh God_.

"Allura, he's starting to look pale." Pidge warned. Allura stood.

 _I'm going to puke_.

A couple of gags set everyone on their feet. Keith placed a hand over his mouth, sweating, cold, and white as a an instant, Lance and Shiro were on him, grabbing each arm.

"Keith? I think he's gonna' barf."

"We won't get him to a bathroom in time." Shiro turned, grabbing one of the larger bowls off of the table. Lance grabbed his arms, trying to usher him out of the chair.

"You're gonna' be okay, alright? Can you stand for me?"

It didn't take long for Keith to collapse to his knees, causing everyone to rush over in alarm. He gagged; he wretched. Not a single bite was even taken yet something still found it's way up his throat. Shiro started rubbing his back, holding the bowl below Keiths' face.

Allura shoved his chair out of the way, sliding a hand on his forehead. "His temperature seems to be rising. What could be wrong?"

"Maybe he wasn't in the healing pod long enough?" Hunk interjected.

"Maybe," Shiro looked up at the princess, "I think we should run some scans on him-"

"I'm… fine."

All heads turned to the panting red paladin. He wiped bile residue from his lips, catching a couple of breaths. "I think… I'm just exhausted."

"That could be a valid reason," the princess furrowed her brows, touching his shoulder, "but you haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"The longer you go without eating, the more sick you become." Pidge pinched her nose, the pungent smell of stomach bile starting to work its way in as the panic died down. "I've known people who threw up from not eating. It could also be from exhaustion."

"Yeah, but Lance was also exhausted and he's been eating like a champion." Hunk and Lance's eyes met. The Cuban could only let his eyes fall back onto his teammate, who was only just now collecting himself.

Keith caught Lance in downcast and thus became more aware of himself. Lance had been in that pod longer-he needed it. Yet as he waited for his colleague of Voltron to awake, the first thing Lance came tumbling out and screaming was his name. Keith remembered the various emotions that shifted on his face upon actually seeing Keith's face.

It was the first time he saw Lance shed tears over him. The first time Lance grabbed him by the fabric of his shirt so tightly.

It bothered him that everyone was so traumatized, and yet he couldn't remember it at all.

"I'm really tired, guys. That's it, I swear."

Everyone held their arms out as Keith began to stagger onto his feet. He grabbed his bowl of "extra-healthy" green gew. "I'm gonna' take this to my room and sleep it off. The rest of you should do the same soon."

Allura glared at him, taking the bowl from his grasp. "Nu-uh, mister. Your temperature has increased." She snapped a finger. "Coran, check and see if we have anything to reduce fevers."

"Just a tick!" He dashed off at impossible speed with a salute.

Lance grew more visibly concerned. " _Wah_ -you're not going to put him back in the pod?"

"You and him have both spent too much time in there. If what he really needs is rest, then we also have to rebuild his strength. Hunk, see if you can make something for him that's light on the stomach. Maybe something he can drink?"

"One cure-Keith's-weird-tired-vomiting soup coming right up." With a rolling up of his sleeves, he too was also gone.

"Pidge, you can help me set up some equipment we can bring to Keith's room to check his vitals. We want him to be comfortable. Shiro, take him there, would you?"

"You're all overreacting-"

"What can I do, Princess?" Lance cut him off. Shiro began wrapping Keith's arm around his neck.

"Lance, it's a lot so listen closely. I need to you to get him a cold wet towel, a lot of water, a bucket or bowl, and some extra blankets. Can you do that?"

"Quicker than everyone else."

"Let's get you to bed." Shiro was already walking Keith out of the dining hall.

Lance stopped in his sprint, turning to glance back at the two. Keith was saying something about being able to walk, and Shiro blew him off. His lips hung slightly. When Keith was being electrocuted, the one who came soaring to the rescue was…

… and then he slapped himself. Lance had a chance to do something, yet he was delaying. The boy continued to run off into his important treasure hunt.

* * *

"You worry too much."

"Stop complaining and drink your water."

Keith sipped the liquid, eyes darting about the ceiling. Though he kept a steady facade, starring in one place too long caused vertigo, and the nausea would start up again. In honesty, his body felt like a rock, like he was now glued to the mattress. Keith handed the cup to Shiro and the black paladin took it, staring at the contents.

"Pidge and Allura will be here soon to get you checked out," he scrunched his brows, displeased at the sight. Shiro shoved the cup back in Keith's face, "and _you_ need to finish this."

Keith was reminded of the churning in his innards upon the closeup of the cup. He instinctively looked elsewhere. "In a minute."

"You won't get better with that attitude."

"What are you, my mom?"

 _No, but_ you're _acting like a teenager_. Shiro really wanted to say that out loud, but released a sigh instead. These behaviors and symptoms weren't like Keith. Honestly, the more Shiro saw, the more concerning the situation morphed in his mind. What if Keith hadn't fully healed?

"... If I had been there-"

"What? _Stop_."

"I was right there. I could have stopped something but…" The black paladin leaned forward, unable to finish. Seeing this was the only thing that got Keith to sit up, despite how dizzy he was feeling.

"Shiro, what happened to me?"

Within seconds, their eyes met. The gradual time it took said that Shiro didn't want to say. The pause confirmed that there were some memories that he'd hate to dredge up.

That was when Shiro broke eye contact. "How much do you remember?"

Keith focused on the blanket materials, really honing in on those circling memories. "I remember… Lance took a devastating hit. I saw the Druid raise a hand. I couldn't let him get hurt, so I…"

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. That's all."

Shiro paused, patting his legs and standing. "Maybe you should let Lance tell you."

"What? Why can't you?"

"Because I'm sure he's just itching to say thanks."

With that, Shiro gently pushed Keith back into his mattress. "You should close your eyes until they get here." He placed his hand on Keith's forehead, being as gentle as possible with his touch. "Staying up any longer can't be good for you."

Keith didn't respond. The cool feel of his friend's prosthetic arm was relaxing, and seemed to ease his nausea and tensed nerves a little. Whether the cause was trust or not went unanswered, but as time passed, Keith's lids became more heavy. He eventually closed them shut, enjoying the chill sweeping over his skin and through his bangs.

* * *

" _...eith?_ "

" _Shh. I think he's asleep._ "

" _Should I leave?_ "

" _We were actually just doing that. Do you mind changing his rags before going to bed?_ "

" _I got it. You guys go on ahead._ "

" _We should have results by tomorrow. Don't worry, Lance._ "

" _... Yeah._ "

* * *

The sensation of cold and wet trickled onto his skin. Keith stirred, opening his eyes.

"Shiro…?"

"Well, I feel cheated."

The raven-haired looked over to a sarcastic look on a Cuban's face. Lance was wringing out a washcloth, at least it looked like Lance. The colors fit, but the blurred vision made it hard to tell. The blob gently lay the cloth over Keith's forehead. He squinted to make sure what he was seeing was real and not an illusion from a half-asleep stupor.

"Lance…? S' that you?"

"I come to your aid out of my own voldition, and you call out another dude's name. Do you know what that does to a man's heart?"

"Volition."

" _Whatever._ "

"What are you doing here? What's everyone else doing?"

"Sleeping."

"What?" Now that Keith thought about it, Shiro did say Lance was on his way, but was everyone already asleep in such a short amount of time?

"Why aren't you resting, too? You got zapped in the spine. Several lacerations and severe blood loss." and instead, Lance stayed here to take care of Keith all of this time?

"I already tried sleeping. Kept tossing and turning. So I came here."

"You can't do that."

"One good reason."

"You almost died protecting me."

"Yeah-so did you." Lance shifted to the side, refilling Keith's cup of water. "That being said, it's your fault I can't sleep. Hope you're proud of yourself, Mullet."

The guy was nursing Keith back to health and still had the will to insult him. Classic. But Keith saw the seriousness on Lance's face. It wasn't just rivalry or comedic banter. There was a twinge of pain lying beneath his skin.

" _Maybe you should have Lance tell you_." Shiro's words rang like a clear bell. Keith grabbed hold of Lance's arm, causing the Cuban to almost spill the water _everywhere_.

" _Woah_ -what's your deal?"

"Lance, what happened to me?"

Lance stopped, then placed the water down. "Well, Pidge and the Princess came in to do your tests. You slept through all of them though. They said that they'll find out what's wrong by-"

" _No_ ," Keith cut him off, shaking his head and giving a sincere look, "I mean… I mean before all of this. After I got in front of you, I don't remember anything."

Blood appeared to drain from Lance's face. His eyes started drawing away, showing signs of not wanting to remember. "Well, you deserve to know."

"Was it that bad?"

Lance gave Keith almost a guilty expression. "... We were sure you died for a couple of seconds, there."

"I… died?"

Keith's eyebrows lifted. His eyes rounded. Lance sighed, trying to suppress oncoming quivering from the memories. Despite being paralyzed and nearly emptied of blood, the horrific memories were vivid.

"The Druid grabbed you by the head and lifted you off of the ground, like you weighed nothing. I remember… you _screamed_. And then…" Lance shuddered slightly, shaking his head. "It fried your brain. There was so much electricity that your body was convulsing. Your screams were so… and then you just stopped."

Lance leaned forward, holding his head, trying not to shed any tears. It wasn't working.

"Lance-"

"It dropped your body right in front of me, and I couldn't do _anything_. I couldn't even move!"

"Lance, it's okay. Calm down."

"It's not okay. If Shiro and Allura hadn't been there, you would have been dead. In the end, all I could was watch."

"That is _not_ true." Keith sat up, pushing past the weight and vertigo to grab Lance by the shoulders. "Do you remember what happened before then? Why you were like that?"

"I-"

"Lance, you _jumped in front of me_. I tripped, remember? You took a direct hit to your _spine_ for me. I only returned the favor." Keith sat back, "I didn't forget that part, but it seems like you did."

Lance couldn't stop the tears now. He started sniffling like a whining baby. That was right. He was a pretty emotional teen at times.

Keith sighed. "You're such a crybaby…"

"O-Oh yeah!? Well, you're a… You're a vomit-baby!"

Keith gave a look of disgust. Lance folded his arms, as if his comeback made him victorious. But this was fine. It was acceptable for now. Keith lay back down on his side, groaning to himself.

"Go back to your room. Looking at your face is making me tired."

" _Rude_. And I thought we were finally getting somewhere."

"Where we are is fine." He shifted, getting comfortable. "I wouldn't call risking our lives for each other a bad thing."

Lance scratched the back of his neck, unsure. "... Is it really okay for me to leave?"

"Yeah, I said it was."

The blue lion pilot sighed, rising from his seat and brushing his jeans. He started walking for the door. "Call if you need anything, okay. Don't hole up like a stupid tough-guy."

"Lance,"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Lance turned, staring at Keith's resting back for a moment. This was the part where he usually smiled and said 'you're welcome', but the feeling just didn't seem to set in. He was still concerned. After what he knew about the current situation…

… Lance scrunched his brows, turning off the lights.

"I mean it, call me for anything."

" _Goodnight_ , Lance."

"Night, bud."

The room became silent with only Keith and himself. He coughed a couple of times into his hand, the previous sensations becoming more real now that one of his focuses left the room. What was it Lance said earlier? Pidge and Allura were there?

They did mention they were going to run tests. They must have done it while he was asleep. That means that Keith slept like a heavy rock.

The tiredness saturated him in that moment. He'd hear the results tomorrow. After a good night's sleep, Keith would learn that all was fine. There was nothing to stress.

Once more, he'd close his eyes, there being nothing important enough to resist rest.

* * *

"His brainwaves are out of whack. It seems like there's inflammation in the limbic system, mostly in the hypothalamus and amygdala. So basically his nervous system and what controls his memories, decisions, emotions…" Pidge sat back in her chair, messing with a toothpick between her teeth. Allura watched carefully over her shoulder, "... but there doesn't appear to be any residue damage from the fight."

"He _was_ acting a bit cranky at dinner."

"Keith is always cranky."

"More than usual. He kept saying he was exhausted, and I believe him, but watching it all appeared… off."

Pidge was unable to argue. All of team Voltron saw it. His acting up sprung entirely out of nowhere, and there was no way he wasn't in the pod long enough. The evidence was that all damage done to him prior was entirely gone.

She rolled away, crossing her arms. "Yeah, you're right."

"Is there any inkling of a cause to all of this?"

"None that I'm detecting so far. I'll have to keep looking into it. The inconsistency in his brain waves are really concerning me, so I won't leave it alone." Her finger began pointing to different boxes, showing percents, rates, and numbers that no normal teen could comprehend. "Not only that, but the amount of inconsistency is getting gradually worse."

"I thought that was because of the fever spiking?"

"Probably. Maybe he really was just overexerted."

"I wouldn't hold my breath, Pidge." Allura stood upright, eyes narrowed at the data they received from Keith while asleep. "Let's keep a close eye on him just in case."

"Right."

But there was one string of numbers that showed up so subtly and every so often within the others that Pidge knew didn't belong. The little bugs always brought her focus back, giving her a dangerous gut feeling.

"We'll have to put this to a close soon. Someone will be suspicious if they catch us still awake."

Pidge, sat upright, turning. "But, Allura-"

The princess merely placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "You too need your rest. We can't help each other if we all go insane."

As usual, she had an outstanding point. Pidge sighed in defeat.

"Oh, and Pidge?"

"Hm?"

"Don't tell the others about this. Not yet, anyway. I don't want to get everyone worked up over just tiredness."

The green paladin wanted to bite her lip down on that, but as usual, agreed to a very small extent. She wanted to stand up and say that everyone should know about the situation, but even Pidge herself didn't know the situation. The only thing lying before her were little hidden strings of numbers that could literally mean _anything_.

She slumped her shoulders. "Okay, got it."

The two turned back to the computer, replaying the recorded activity of Keith's brain. The whole visual lasted up to two hours. This must have been their third time processing and eliminating.

Little did they know someone leaned on the outside wall, listening carefully to everything they had said.

Whatever dead sleep any of them were in was shoved out of their beds and onto the floors by the sound of a blaring distress siren. Feet skid across the ground of their rooms.

* * *

Each paladin broke out into a nervous sweat as they prepared for an attack.

Keith was nearly out of breath. The loud noise sent him into a panic, causing him to forget the state his body had been in. Whether he was recovering or not didn't matter. He threw on his armor and grabbed his bayard, going as far as to forget his helmet and run towards the castle core.

Him and the others all seemed to have gotten there around the same time, running through the door and standing beneath a flickering red light.

"Is everything okay?" Shiro shouted over the blaring noise.

"What happened? Where's the princess?"

Allura came dashing in that moment to answer Pidge's question. All turned to look at her.

"Allura, what's happening?"

She turned to Hunk, as ready for combat as they were. "I don't know. I thought one of you might have turned the alarm on."

"What? Then it wasn't you?" Lance rose his voice.

Keith listened to this, vision swimming, heart beating at rapid rates. It wasn't just the color of the distress signal. It was like his own vision was turning red, and he had no harness on it. His thoughts were occupied with one thought. He only tasted one thing.

 _Who is it? Where are they?_

 _Where is the danger?_

 _Are we okay? Will we die?_

The taste of copper layered underneath his tongue, eyes darting about like a wild dog. What was this? Why was this happening? His bayard shook between his fingers. For some reason, the sword wasn't forming.

 _No, focus_!

 _Someone's coming to kill us. We have to… we have to-_

That was when the repetitive noise and blinking light stopped. Everyone looked up to the normalized lights, then to the front of the room. Coran's back was facing them. With shaking and sheepish intention, he turned with an awkward smile.

"S-Sorry! It was me. My hand slipped."

"Your what!?"

" _Your what_?" Keith echoed Allura almost inaudibly.

Coran felt sweat building on his neck. "Yeaaah, you see, I discovered that we can change the color of the lights in the room, and well, my curiosity got the better of me to the point that I just rapidly started changing them!"

"The alarm was right next to the controls." He added with a swallow.

There was a row of groaning from those whose sleep had been disturbed. Face-palms would follow those up, as well as tired-driven accusatory statements and questions towards Coran. The princess herself was chewing him out, giving him a low-down about him being over ten thousand years old, and therefore having no excuse to act like an adolescent child. He only continued to dip his head in repeated apologies.

But when the offer of making some midnight snacks came up, all humans in the room were suddenly not upset and very forgiving.

It was Keith who stood out from the group, separated in his own being. He panted to himself, sweat trickling down his temple, and eyes wide, unable to process what just happened. A sense of heat rippled through his skull, radiating all the way to his tightening insides and clenched fingertips. A feeling of lividness stacked on top of it.

"You… you woke us up… because you were playing with _lights_?"

All turned to the sudden sharp shift tone of voice. Keith's heavy breathing wasn't stopping. His cheeks appeared a little pinkish, too. He didn't look at anyone. He only glared at the ground.

"Keith? Are you okay-"

"No, I'm not okay!" The one in question cut Shiro off, waving a hand of dismissal. He took some steps forward, eyes fixed directly on Coran.

"What kind of imbecile who works with this ship _all of the time_ makes such a juvenile mistake?"

"-Keith, it was an accident." Allura assured him.

"It wasn't _just_ an accident. That noise is a signal for us, Voltron, to go out and risk our lives, and you want to just write it off as an everyday water spill!?"

Pidge called out from behind him. "Coran said he was sorry and that he wouldn't do it again. Is that not enough for you?"

"Hardly!"

"Keith," Allura reached out gently, "please, calm down-"

" _I am calm_!"

The shout sent everyone back on their heels, silently forced to listen to his anger echo and dissolve into the ceiling for several seconds. Hands were up. Faces were left in shock.

Keith kept his eyes planted to the floor, breathing audibly, skin redder than before.

"Keith?" Hunk gave a cautioned call. He'd receive no answer.

Allura and Pidge made eye contact. The Altean nobility began approaching him as nonthreatening as possible. "Keith, I think we should go-"

His eyes snapped up in that moment, feet pacing towards Coran. He heard nothing. He saw nobody else. A strong feeling of bloodthirst took over his mind. He felt attacked. He felt threatened by what happened. Coran couldn't be trustworthy. Coran would hurt him. He needed to be locked up-no.

He needed to be killed.

Lance grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Keith, stop! What's going on with you!?"

"Let go of me."

Lance froze up, trying not to appear intimidated. "No way, you look like you're gonna-"

Keith let out a roar, tackling Lance to the ground like a pouncing panther. Lance shouted, deflecting all of his attacks. The other members came running. It took both Hunk and Shiro to restrain Keith, holding him in one spot as he wriggled.

Lance slowly stood up, staring at his friend with a lost expression, face drained of blood. He saw Keith's reddened face, the amount of sweat that was building up… it was scaring him.

Lance took a couple of steps forward, a hand unsure of its destination reaching out to his buddy. "Keith?"

"Lance, don't go near him." Pidge stepped in between the two. She knew it. She should have listened to her gut feeling about this. Now look what was happening!

The more seconds that went by, the calmer Keith got. It was then that he ceased all struggles and violent groans, losing his place in his head. Things were unclear again. He didn't understand what he was feeling. A sense of reason and reality starting pushing its way to the surface again.

 _What just happened_?

He looked up, seeing the concerned faces of two friends. Lance looked terrified. Pidge looked like she was staring at Keith like a dangerous criminal.

"Keith?" Lance said, seeing the change in his eyes.

"W… what did I just do?"

All looked at him, wondering whether to trust him or not.

"Keith, you calm now?"

All of that explosive, anger-driven energy fled his body, leaving him weak in the muscles. He still sweat, but the redness in his face retreated to a small dusting of pink on his cheeks and nose.

" _What did I just do_?" He repeated himself, more clear this time.

"What, you don't know?" Pidge took a step forward. Keith only looked at her, eyes begging for an answer, but also terrified to know what it was. Hunk and Shiro made eye contact, deciding it was okay for now to release him.

Pidge looked behind her, then back at Keith. "You… _attacked Lance_."

Keith's eyes rounded. He was overwhelmed with shock and confusion. That explained their faces, but there was no way he could have done that… right?

"I did that?"

"You charged at Coran, too." Shiro added.

The statements left him stunned. Keith looked at their individual faces, taking in the expressions of what looked to him like fear, distrust, and caution. It was true. He actually attacked them.

His stomach dropped.

"Keith," Allura began approaching, "It'll be alright, let's just-"

Keith took off, leaving the room before any of their shouts to him could be completed. He couldn't hear what they said. He didn't even know if any of them were coming after him. Keith just kept running, unaware that he was incapable of physically pushing himself the way he was.

 _I attacked Lance_.

Overwhelming feelings began to tingle through his brain and rise again, but they were different this time. The intent wasn't directed towards anyone else.

 _I tried to attack Coran_.

They were directed towards himself.

Keith bolted into his room, taking a minute to think and lock himself in. Slowly, he traced his feet backwards and sat on the edge of his bed. He leaned forward, gripping his hands in his head. The inside hurt. It felt like someone was grating on it and tearing it to shreds. Keith hated himself for what he did. His mind was enveloped with negative thoughts.

He grit his teeth so hard it caused even more pain to the migraine. Tears rolled down his face. What was wrong with him? What kind of monster was he?

After what he had done, he didn't deserve to be on the team.

He didn't deserve to ask for forgiveness.

He didn't…

Keith gasped, head turning.

Eyes locking on one thing.

Without being able to stop, his feet lead him to his wardrobe.

He took out a belt, pulling tight on it.

Everything else that happened became a blur.

* * *

 **00:01 - _START_**

* * *

There was screaming. There was a strangling pain. Did someone turn the lights on? He couldn't open his eyes to tell. His body was suspended, and somewhere along those lines, the sense of his surroundings and the screaming both evaporated.

Keith began to stir, eyes rolling around behind his lids. The room around him was colder than before. The position of his body also felt different…

He slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was nothing. The walls were a dark grey. The room was square, and nothing was in it.

 _Where am I_?

He went to move, but something restrained him. It was then his sense of touch started registering. Keith felt his heart pound and dared look at himself.

He was in a chair, wrists and ankles tied down to it. The boy began to panic, fighting with the metal cuffs. His struggling breaths went unheard as eyes rushed about, looking for some form of escape. Had he been kidnapped?

No, how would have someone gotten into the castle to begin with?

 _Are the others okay? Am I the only one?_

The inside of his throat burned, and he choked. Keith continued to struggle.

 _Drat_!

"Hey, you're awake."

Keith stopped breathing at the voice. His head quickly turned to meet them. A figure stood in the shadows of the doorway. When they heard no answer, they approached.

"Who are you?" Keith demanded. As the mystery figure became clear coming into the light, his eyes widened.

Shiro stood before him, expressionless.

"This is for your own good."

* * *

 **A/N: It's Voltron angst week and I will not apologize.**

 **That moment when you think it's a fic about Keith and Lance angst but it's actually Brogane angst.**

 **[** _ **... What do you mean that's not relatable?**_ **]**


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